Bygone Days
by shadowoftherose
Summary: Hatate Kakashi has gone through a lot to get to be how he is now: Laid back and yet a strong Jounin. Only a year after Obito's death, and just allowed into the ANBU, Kakashi is still growing. Struggling under ANBU standards, and his promise to Obito.
1. Ch1: Mission Complete

**Bygone Days**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto_

_Notes: I apologize if any years don't really match, or misspellings of the Japanese words I use._

**Chapter One: Mission Complete**

His footsteps barely made any sound, despite the fact that at this speed he should've at least rustled some leaves. No, this shinobi was known for his stealth, and he wasn't going to alert his target by such a stupid mistake like rustling leaves. His breath came out in sharp pants, and it condensed against his face, since his mask didn't let the moisture escape. His target wasn't visible yet, but he could smell him- he was near.

Hatake Kakashi of the ANBU streaked forward, his speed rising steadily as he tore through the woods. His right arm stretched out, and blue light began to crackle from his hand. Chakra continued to build, and already the telltale sounds of what sounded like a thousand birds was audible. Would his target notice? Maybe, maybe not, but it would still be too late. Kakashi's _Chidori_ had yet to fail him.

For a moment, he wondered whether he was taking too great a risk; should he have done the _Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu_? The summoned ninja dogs would have made sure that the target did not escape. Too late now, anyways, there was no point in going on about it.

Finally, a small-looking man appeared in his field of vision, and he saw the missing-nin look up at him in disbelief. No doubt thought that he would at least have been able to get out the Fire Country's borders, but the previously injured man could not possibly be faster than the assigned ANBU squad. The former Hidden Leaf Village ninja made no move to try to evade Kakashi's attack, but his eyes did widen in what seemed more like surprise then fear.

"W-white Fang?" the missing-nin whispered uncertainly.

Kakashi's concentration faltered momentarily. Always by the hair... His silver-coloured hair was just way too identifiable. Perhaps it would even lead to his demise eventually. However, the mention of his father brought up old pains, and he closed his right eye, though his Sharingan left eye remained open. _Just kill the man… forget anything else. Focus on the mission,_ he told himself.

Now nearly face-to-face, he made eye contact with the man for a second. Right before the electric-like chakra burst through the man's chest, Kakashi muttered to the ninja, "I am _not_ White Fang." The Konoha ninja stood still for a few minutes, staring at the now lifeless body, his arm fully stretched out and coming out the man's back. Nevertheless, he soon compiled himself again and pulled back his arm, and watched the ninja fall at a heap at the Jounin's feet.

There was activity all of a sudden around him, and the three other ANBU members of his squad arrived, each with their own mask covering their face. The silver-haired ninja stepped back, his part of the job done, and let the others do their work: getting rid of the body completely as to protect any secrets that were being harboured in the body. He watched intensely with one eye, and he closed his Sharingan eye absently, to conserve chakra.

Kakashi felt a hand on his shoulder, and he twisted his head slightly to confirm to whom the hand belonged. As he suspected, it was Haya. For some reason, the woman tended to look at him as a child, yet she did not treat him as one. It was more like she merely thought that joining the ANBU wasn't the best choice a thirteen-year-old could make. She looked down on him with unnecessary sympathy.

"Good job, Kakashi. I noticed that you paused for a moment, which could've have been fatal had it been a high-level ninja, but considering this is your third assignment, I think we can let it pass," Kenji, the squad captain, said with a chuckle.

The young ninja didn't answer. He didn't like being spoken to in such a condescending manner. He, who made it to Chuunin level at age six, and Jounin at age thirteen, didn't need to be congratulated for every successful mission he did. He would begin to regret joining the ANBU if they kept treating him like that. Crossing his arms, he noticed that they had finished with destroying the missing-nin's body, but he also realized that Kenji was suddenly looking around strangely.

"Kakashi, where are your Ninken?"

Ah, of course he had to bring that up. Besides this mission, he had always used them, even when he was just a Jounin in the past year. Of course, he only had two dogs at the moment, but he was in the process of training more of them. He looked over to Kenji, and narrowed his eyes, and fortunately, because of the dog-like facemask, the ANBU captain could not see his defiance.

"I didn't really see need for them. The target wasn't going to escape."

The final member of their squad, Mouse, as Kakashi called him because of his mask and small size, shot to his feet from his kneeling position and turned to the teenager. He hadn't yet introduced himself properly to Kakashi, and the other squad members seemed to have taken to calling him Mouse too, so Kakashi had no idea who he really was, despite the fact he had seen his face a few times.

Looking at the young ANBU member, he tore off his mask, the white and red mask held tightly in his left hand. His dark eyes looked angry, and he hissed at Kakashi, "The target wasn't going to escape? How do you know that? That Sharingan of yours doesn't tell you what they're capable of!"

The silver-haired ninja's face flared, and his stance straightened, snapping back at him, "Even if he did escape, I would still have got him. He had a broken leg, with no doubt a broken spirit. I don't even know why this was ranked S-Class."

All of a sudden, a hand reached out to Kakashi's face, and Mouse grabbed his mask, throwing it hard to the ground, a tiny crack appeared on the very edge. The slim ninja stared at him angrily, and he hollered at him, "With this attitude of yours, you're going to get killed in the ANBU! We have no space for shinobi that think they will always succeed, no space for those that do a team's mission on their own!"

Kakashi's face coloured again, though the dark mask that covered the lower half of his face pretty much hid it. He was told to go ahead and assassinate the target with Chidori; he hadn't done the team's mission on his own against orders. He may not be as tied to the rules as he was before Obito's … death, taking heed to what he had told him, and what his sensei had too, but he never disobeyed them straight out either.

So, instead of arguing with the experienced ANBU, he simply turned his back on them, and began his run back to the village. Their mission was done, and he'd meet up with his squad later, once he had collected his thoughts. They still had to report the success of their mission to the Hokage, and he would rather not be there at the time. Even as he ran through the woods, he didn't really know where he was heading, not until he was right at the village.

Slowing down, he made his way to the now-familiar memorial stone- the stone that had inscribed on it the name of Uchiha Obito. He stared at the glossy surface, reading over the names, as he had done so many times before. _Because of me, you're not here, Obito_. If only he had gone with him in the first place, it wouldn't have happened. _I promised to protect Rin, but she doesn't really talk much to me anymore…_

Closing both of his eyes, he tried to swallow the lump at this throat, and he crouched down to face the stone at its height. _Rule #25:_ _Shinobi never cry._ Opening his mismatched eyes once again, an intense flame seemed to grow in them. He would show them all: Kenji, Mouse, Haya, and anyone else that didn't believe in him. Standing up, he continued to stare at the memorial, more specifically, Obito's carved name.

Obito had taught him much, and Kakashi wasn't going to forget it.

"Kakashi?"

The young Konoha ninja started, his hand grabbing for a kunai and pulling it, twisting to face the voice as he did so. However, as soon as he saw who it was, he relaxed, but then immediately tensed up once again. The ninja in front of him was no other then Rin.

"I caught you off-guard? Are you getting lazy in your old age, Kakashi?" she said, smiling timidly.

"I was distracted, that's all," he said, as he sheathed the kunai that was in his hand, "So, um, what-" he stopped in mid-sentence, as he finally noticed that the girl had flowers in her hand, no doubt for the memorial he was standing in front. He stepped aside, and crossed his arms, watching her carefully.

"For Obito," she whispered, as she stepped forward to place the flowers at the base of the stone, before turning to look at Kakashi, to look at the Sharingan eye she herself had implanted. Obito's Sharingan eye… She noticed that it still only had two of the marks, not the three of a developed Sharingan. She decided not to bring it up.

Dropping her gaze from his eyes, she finally noticed that he was in ANBU uniform, and if she had heard right, he probably just got back from an assignment. Where was his mask? Rin had noticed that ANBU members tended to keep their masks on until the mission was complete, including the reporting to the Yondaime.

"Where's your ANBU mask?…"

Kakashi just blinked stupidly at her, as if he had no idea what she was talking about. Reaching up to his face, and only touching the dark cloth of his facemask, he cursed under his breath. After Mouse tore it off him, he never retrieved it… that was dangerous and stupid of him. One of the squad members almost certainly picked it up, and he could only hope it was Haya, for she was the only one that would not give him a lecture of a sort.

His eyes narrowing, he turned away from her, and jumped away, toward the Hokage's office where his squad was probably waiting. Kakashi tried not to think about Rin, and focused on his current predicament.

TO BE CONTIUNED


	2. Ch2: The Hokage

**Chapter Two: Hokage**

Kakashi seemingly appeared out of nowhere, calmly standing behind his ANBU squad. As the four people in the room turned to look at him, he noticed that only two of them weren't surprised: Mouse and the Yondaime, his old sensei. As his eyes surveyed their faces, he caught sight of his ANBU mask, lying on the Hokage's desk, displaying his guilt.

"Kakashi…" began the Yondaime.

"This _child_ is unfit to remain in the ANBU," Mouse interrupted, despite the looks of shock on the others' faces, "Not only will he end up getting himself killed, he will, without doubt, put someone else in danger."

The young Hokage looked over to the silver-haired shinobi, trying to read the expression that was burning in the teenager's mismatched eyes. Frowning, he looked down to the mask that lay on the table, the words of the other squad members repeating themselves in his mind. Looking once again to Kakashi, he half expected him to counter Mouse's judgement, but the boy said nothing.

"Surely that's an exaggeration, considering his mistake was that he did not summon his Ninken?" the blonde-haired Yondaime said softly, looking once again to the adults.

"In the ANBU, that's unacceptable. Our missions are dangerous, and the smallest mistake could prove lethal and bring failure to missions that simply cannot fail," Kenji answered, glancing over to Kakashi as he paused, then continued, "Maybe he's just too young; after all, seeing that he left his mask behind could be a sign that he doesn't really understand what the consequences from lack of responsibility could cause."

The Yondaime didn't answer right away, still silently pondering. He had faith in Kakashi, he knew that he could handle the responsibility of being part of the ANBU squad. However, what he deliberated in his mind was a manner of response that would please all parties. He couldn't straight out punish the boy, not since he hadn't done anything serious, along with it being his first offence; on the other hand, he couldn't just let him go, the others, especially Mouse, would not take kindly to it.

"I'll deal with Kakashi. The rest of you are dismissed."

Haya seemed relieved, despite the fact that throughout this entire meeting, she hadn't said a word. Kenji looked a little annoyed, but he didn't say anything. Mouse looked ready to break something, and he tore his gaze from the Hokage to the boy ninja, with Kakashi staring straight back at him. As the ANBU member left the room, they all could feel his rage as he left. The other two left after him, looking back at the silver-haired Kakashi before they disappeared, closing the door behind them.

"Thanks, sensei," Kakashi murmured, though he knew that it wasn't quite over yet.

The blonde man frowned, observing the younger shinobi before he spoke, "Are you alright? After all, the demands of being an ANBU member are quite high."

"I'm fine. I don't know why they made such a big deal out of this. Do they really expect me to use the Ninken for _every_ mission?"

"They're not right in expecting that of you, yes, but isn't this only your third mission? I can't blame them either for assuming you'll need more time before you, and they, felt comfortable with you attacking solo."

The silver-haired teenager dropped his gaze, staring at his sandals. So his sensei agreed with the rest of them that it had been Kakashi that was in the wrong. At the sound of a quiet scraping, his head shot back up, and saw that the Yondaime had stood up, and had slid the dog-like ANBU mask towards him.

"Don't let them bring you down, Kakashi. You have much potential, and without a doubt, the ANBU will make you stronger," The Yondaime said with a small smile, though he then added to himself, _or it may break you._

With mismatched eye he stared at the white and red mask, and his detached expression changed into one of determination. Grabbing the mask with his left hand, he stared at it, and his thoughts raced. To him what had seemed ages, and in reality only had been a moment, he looked back up to the Hokage, and said, "I'll show them."

With those words, he turned and disappeared in a slight puff of smoke.

The Yondaime stared at the place where Kakashi had last been for a long time, unmoving as a statue. Once he finally moved, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Kakashi worried him. His father's death had much impact on him, but Obito's death had really influenced him. In the Hokage's eyes, Kakashi didn't seem very stable at all. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to allow him to join the Black Ops, maybe he should have taken this chance and gotten him out of the ANBU.

His thoughts on Kakashi didn't last long, since a shinobi burst open the door, his wide eyes staring at the Hokage.

"Yondaime, sir! It's what we feared!"

* * *

It was winter, and there still wasn't any snow. Did it disappoint him? Kakashi wasn't sure. All he knew was that he wasn't fond of the upcoming festivities. He hadn't enjoyed them for a few years now, the last time being the year before his father… took his life. Shutting his eyes tightly, he tried to focus on Obito's words:

_"In the world of the ninja those who violate the rules and laws are called trash.  
However... those who don't take care of their comrades are worse than trash"_

Sighing loudly, he looked down to the ground, letting his legs swing from his perch on a tree branch. Obito… if Kakashi hadn't been so useless, so absorbed in the regulations, he wouldn't have died. He thought maybe joining the ANBU would have given him a chance to redeem himself, but so far, it hasn't quite worked so well.

He was still deep in thoughts when he was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts. Kakashi jumped to his feet, and unsheathed the sword on his back, and looked down. Seeing who had kicked the tree, he muttered to himself, sheathed the sword and sat down against the tree trunk, ignoring the one down below. Although, he was somewhat annoyed at himself for being surprised yet once again.

"Hey, hey, hey!" an unpleasantly cheerful voice called from down below. "You owe me a match!"

Kakashi groaned slightly, tilting his head back slightly against the tree trunk. Maito Gai. They had fought a friendly match before, and he had beat him. Ever since, Gai had been going after him for a re-match. Kept saying that Kakashi was a worthy rival.

"Not today, Gai," Kakashi murmured, his eyes dropping from Gai's gaze.

The chuunin cocked his head, and could sense the silver-haired ninja's unease. He decided to let it go for today, though he wondered what was wrong with the boy jounin. Jumping up to the branch that he was sitting on, he sat down, and looked over to Kakashi. Opening his mouth to speak, he never did get to say anything.

"_BOOM!"_

Kakashi erected, his eyes widened. Hopping to his feet, he stared at Gai for a moment, then towards the sound. There was a gray cloud there now, and it seemed awfully quiet, but soon enough, another explosion could be seen. He placed his dog-like mask on his face, and then streaked off towards it.

Whatever it was, he was going to find out.

TO BE CONTIUNED


End file.
